, Aug. 22 -- Somali pirates have hijacked an oil products tanker off Yemen, a Somali maritime security official said, in the latest incident in a renewed wave of piracy in the Gulf of Aden and western Indian Ocean.

Six armed pirates seized the Eritrean-flagged M.T. Sibu 1 on Thursday, about 136 nautical miles (252 kilometres) east of al-Mukalla, Yemen, and took it toward Somalia's Puntland coast, the official told The Associated Press on Friday.

The official, who has knowledge of the incident, spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to discuss the matter publicly.

The Sibu 1 is managed by UAE-based Qatrat Alnada Almasi Ship Management. The US Treasury Department sanctioned the vessel last year, alleging that it was par...